This chronicle of life on Place Saint-Sulpice and the ballet of passers-by - elegant ladies, workers on their hard-earned lunch break, friends sharing an aperitif or students escaping the boulevards to grab a coffee - could have been written today.
A marvel of Baroque architecture in the heart of Paris, the area bears witness to Catherine de Medici's nostalgia for her native Florence, from the Luxembourg Gardens, inspired by Boboli Gardens, to the Place Saint-Sulpice, where a certain southern glamour is ever present.
The clientele, more discreet than that of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, is more reserved and also more varied. Young families mingle with older ones, as well as the artists, intellectuals, manufacturers and finance workers who all reside in the neighbourhood, which they share with a large international clientele who come to live or have a pied-à-terre in this iconic part of historic Paris.
The market here is one of the most steady and sought-after in Paris.